


meaner than my demons

by growlery writes (growlery)



Category: The Musketeers (2014)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Gen, WIP Amnesty, vague and unspecified government agency
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:19:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24099463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/growlery/pseuds/growlery%20writes
Summary: She started going by Milady de Winter, Milady for short, after she and Athos got divorced.
Kudos: 3





	meaner than my demons

Milady’s barely got through the door when Richelieu grabs her by the arm and hisses, “My office, now,” in the kind of voice that promises death and destruction. 

She shakes him off, determinedly unruffled. “Do you know what I like about you, Cardinal? You’re always so polite.”

He doesn’t say anything in response, which is how Milady knows she’s fucked. Carefully, he closes the door behind them, and then he picks up a file off his desk and holds it up so that the pages flick down past her, slowly. 

Milady swallows. 

“Did you really think I wouldn’t find out, de Winter?”

“I was kind of banking on it, I’ll admit,” she says. “The skills I learnt then have helped make me your best agent.” 

“Debatable.”

Milady’s jaw tightens. “You should be grateful.”

“ _Grateful_? Do you have any idea what would happen if someone else finds out about this? Every single case you have ever been remotely connected with would be thrown wide open. Is that what you want? I wouldn’t be surprised. That’s the kind of irresponsibility you display day in, day out, and I have to tell you, de Winter, I am sick of it.”

“So what are you going to do?” Milady asks evenly. “I’m assuming you’re not taking it to Internal Affairs.”

“Of course I’m not taking it to Internal fucking Affairs,” Richelieu snaps. “I’m transferring you.”

Milady does her best to look upset at this, or at the very least, put out, because of all the things he could do to her, this is probably the tamest. It’s not like she’s very attached to this place. She’s never really been attached to anywhere, but she’s been part of Richelieu’s unit for going on seven years now and the four boxes of her things are still neatly stacked in a corner of her studio flat. 

“I’m transferring you,” he repeats, “to Treville’s unit.”

Milady’s blood runs cold. “You can’t do that,” she says. “You’ve read my file. You _know_.”

“And what makes you think you’re in a position to make demands?” Richelieu’s face hardens. “I trust you won’t have any trouble settling into the environment. You’re very good at pretending, after all.”

“You can’t do this to me, Richelieu, not if you don’t want even more trouble to deal with,” she warns. 

“It won’t be my problem,” he says, positively cheerful. “It’ll be yours, and Treville’s. I’m sure he’ll be delighted to work with you. Now get out of my office. I want you gone by the end of the day.”

Milady gets up, very slowly, and leaves the room with as much grace as she can muster. 

*

She started going by Milady de Winter, Milady for short, after she and Athos got divorced. 

She’d taken Athos’s surname when they got married, which, in hindsight, was a really terrible idea. Her life before him was... bad, which is not to say that her life with him wasn’t, and maybe that’s unfair but Milady doesn’t have it in her to be charitable. 

The point is, she became Mme de la Fere in all possible ways, moulded herself into the person she thought Mme de la Fere should be, the person she thought Athos wanted her to be, and it nearly destroyed her. It definitely destroyed them. 

Milady de Winter, on the other hand, is an excellent agent. Milady de Winter gets things done with ruthless efficiency and she does not show weakness, ever. Milady de Winter is who she always thought she’d like to be – strong and capable and beholden to no one. 

She likes the irony in making people call her _Milady_. 


End file.
